LABOUR LAW — Retirement from Service — Public Officers (Special Provisions) Act — Appropriate Authority May Retire Officer Where General Conduct Shows Continued Employment Not in Public Interest
Principle Statement
The disciplinary power conferred on the 'appropriate authority' in section 1 (1) of the Act can only be inflicted on those who commit any of the acts specified in the section. In the instant case, the allegation made against the appellant and which was relied on in retiring him from service is said to be that the N92,000 imprest granted to him for a job which he is said to have failed to perform... what the appropriate authority needed to ascertain against an officer before taking necessary action under section 1 (1) of the Act include showing that the action to be taken would facilitate improvement in the organization, or that the general conduct of the public officer in relation to the performance of his duties has been such that his further or continued employment would not be in the public interest.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Akintan, JSC, in Maikyo v. Itodo & Ors (2007) NLC-123-242-2003(SC) at pp. 13–14; Paras D–A.
"The disciplinary power conferred on the 'appropriate authority' in section 1 (1) of the Act can only be inflicted on those who commit any of the acts specified in the section. In the instant case, the allegation made against the appellant and which was relied on in retiring him from service is said to be that the N92,000 imprest granted to him for a job which he is said to have failed to perform... what the appropriate authority needed to ascertain against an officer before taking necessary action under section 1 (1) of the Act include showing that the action to be taken would facilitate improvement in the organization, or that the general conduct of the public officer in relation to the performance of his duties has been such that his further or continued employment would not be in the public interest."
Explanation / Scope
Under the Public Officers (Special Provisions) Act, the appropriate authority may retire an officer where continued employment is not in the public interest. The authority must ascertain that the action would facilitate improvement or that the officer’s general conduct makes continued employment undesirable. This is a disciplinary power that must be exercised fairly and based on ascertainable facts.
